Wellard Agri to host FarmDay 2011

Wellard Agri is delighted to continue its association with Australia’s annual FarmDay, to be held on May 28th and 29th 2011.

The FarmDay program is an initiative that allows city families to gain a greater understanding of the important role of Australian agriculture.

Wellard Agri has been registered with FarmDay since 2010 offering accommodation and a tour of one of its Western Australian properties to a city family for the weekend. This year, there has been a record number of city families keen to experience farm life and with less than four weeks until FarmDay 2011, farming families from across Western Australia are encouraged to register now to participate in the annual event.

Wellard Agri General Manager Tim Macnamara said Wellard Agri was delighted to have the opportunity to participate in FarmDay. “After a hugely successful FarmDay 2010, Wellard Agri is looking forward to once again opening oneof their Western Australian properties to a city family.

“FarmDay is a fantastic initiative that allows city families to gain first-hand experience and a greater understanding of what daily rural life entails.”

To get involved in FarmDay and for further information visit the FarmDay website at www.farmday.com.au.

Wellard is a world leader in the production and distribution of livestock and grain.

Its two largest subsidiaries are Wellard Rural Exports, Australia’s largest livestock exporter and ship owner, and Wellard Agri, a large mixed farming land owner and operator specialising in the production of grains, legumes and livestock.

Wellard Rural Exports has supplied quality dairy and beef cattle and sheep and goats to the world for more than 30 years, and its investment in the live export industry is without peer. Based in Fremantle, Western Australia, the company’s operations cover every aspect of the export chain, including feed milling, livestock aggregation, road transport, feedlot facilities throughout Australia and modern shipping.

The company’s flagship carrier, the MV Ocean Drover (formerly the MV Becrux), is a purpose-built livestock carrier capable of carrying 75,000 sheep or 18,000 cattle to major markets around the globe. She was commissioned in 2002.

Its MV Ocean Shearer (formerly the MV Stella Deneb) can carry 125,000 sheep or 23,000 cattle, or a combination of both.

Two new, technologically advanced, purpose-built vessels, the MV Ocean Swagman and the MV Ocean Outback, were launched in 2010. They offer unparalleled levels of safety for the livestock, crew and vessel, and can transport 7000 cattle, 25,000 sheep, or a combination of both.

Wellard Agri owns and operates eight farms covering 33,000 hectares across three agri-hubs. The two northern hubs are located at Dongara and Watheroo in Western Australia’s central midlands and one is located at Kojonup in the Great Southern region of WA.

The Dongara hub is home to The Grange, a 14,500 hectare property which is considered one of Western Australia’s blue chip farming properties.

The remaining landholding totals more than 18,000 hectares, of which 14,000 hectares is cropped to a variety of grains and legumes. The other 4000ha is devoted to sheep production, including the famous Hyfield Poll Merino stud at Kojonup. In addition, Wellard leases an additional 14,500ha for livestock and grain production.

Wellard Agri also has operations in the farm machinery sector, through management of the CLAAS Harvest Centres at Katanning and Esperance for the Landpower range of farm machinery.